There must be some science to the wave of relief that hits me on the Friday of a 4-day-week. It’s counter-intuitive, really: we shouldn’t feel so eager for the weekend after getting Monday off. And yet.
We are going out to celebrate my birthday (thank you for the well-wishes!) Saturday night. We believed that was all we had planned, but in fact, it turns out, Hudson has his first soccer game that morning. (Whoops.)
I also have a new bookclub pick to start. Have you read it? Reading anything good right now?
Here are some links of note, if you’re in the mood…
Br-nr-nr-nr You say it’s your birthday! … It’s my birthday too—yeah!
As it happens, today actually is my birthday! I’m going to keep the day free of all work plans, have cake with the kids, champagne with Aron, and—womp womp—go to a school picnic. But I’ll also get to celebrate a bit more over the weekend with friends!
So a question: what do you expect to happen on your birthday now that you’re all grown up? Phone calls, the day off, cake, presents? Are you upset if something doesn’t happen? Do you celebrate yours or sweep it under the rug? Pray tell—so I can crib notes.
The third leg of our trip to Scandinavia this past June took us down the west coast of Sweden: we rented a car in Oslo and crossed the border, following the coast as far as the Weather Islands and the Bohuslän coast—known for its lobsters and oysters—before moving on to Copenhagen.
This kind of stop, where nothing in particular is on the agenda—no particular sights or urban attraction—so often turns out to be one of the most rewarding parts of any trip. We try to include such a place on any multi-stop itinerary, but it’s often difficult to plan for. By necessity, it’s the place that’s not in every guidebook. As I mentioned in the Stockholm travelogue, we’d considered basing ourselves in the archipelago off the east coast; we’d also looked at crossing Sweden and stopping in one of the lakeside towns over midsommer. Every option held a different appeal.
In the end, the Bohuslän of West Sweden turned out to be a perfect fit: though the car rental was more expensive, driving was a more efficient means of connecting our destinations than train travel or flying would have been. And the quiet villages along the coast felt like a special secret.
